Some leagues call the playoffs "the second season." In MLS, it's more a case of "Brave New World." Out go six months of fluctuating fortunes, ebbs and flows, barren spells and hot streaks. In comes knockout play, excruciating pressure and the magnified impact of luck, good and bad.

So what sparked that angry exchange between coaches Preki and Dominic Kinnear Saturday in the melee that broke out seconds after Chivas USA and Houston had played a 0-0 tie at Home Depot Center? According to a source who spoke with one of the participants - not Preki or Kinnear - tensions between the benches had been boiling since referee Baldomero Toledo sent off Chivas USA's Lawson Vaughn late in the first half for a studs-up, scissor tackle on Richard Mulrooney. The Chivas USA coaches and players got hotter in the second half when ...

With the Red Bulls and FC Dallas assured of playoff participation, and five teams - theoretically - still in the hunt for the remaining two spots, will the eighth-place team set a record for the poorest mark ever to qualify?